Bailiwick of Conti
Situated on the eponymous island (49.187°N 2.107°W), Conti is a merchant city-state home to a community of industrious seafarers devoted to the advancement of commerce and the preservation of the bailiwick’s civic liberties and democratic institutions guaranteed by the Instrument of Government. Instrument of Government The Great Council is the legislative body of the bailiwick. It consists of 100 members, referred to as Councillors, elected for a single five-year term. The Council of Ten (also referred to as the Ten) is the executive governing body and collective Head of State of the bailiwick. Its members, elected from among the Great Council, are: *The Chancellor of Justice and Keeper of the Seals *The Controller-General of Finances *The Paymaster General *The Councillor of State for Commerce *The Councillor of State for War *The Councillor of State for Educational Affairs *The Councillor of State for Research and Technology *The Councillor of State for Health *The Councillor of State for the Environment *The Councillor of State for Public Works The Bailiff assumes representative functions and is elected from among the Council of Ten, in rotation and for a one-year term. The Estates-General is a temporary legislative assembly, consisting of 300 elected deputies, vested with the exclusive authority to review the Instrument of Government. The power to convoke the Estates is the sole prerogative of the Great Council. The Admiralty of Conti and the office of Lord High Admiral were established by the Admiralty Act of the 8th October 2009. The Lord High Admiral, appointed for a two-and-half-year term by the Great Council, is responsible for overseeing the administration of the navy in conjunction with the Councillor of State for War. The Technology Procurement Act enacted on the 1st September 2010 established the Technology Procurement Fund (TPF) with the mission to stimulate foreign direct investment involving technology transfer and facilitate the acquisition of technology by Conti-based companies. The TPF is endowed with an annual budget of €216 million. Its Director reports directly to the Councillor of State for Research and Technology. Conti’s legislation on citizenship is governed by the jus sanguinis principle. Citizenship is acquired at birth if either of the parents is a citizen of Conti. In effect, political participation and the exercise of citizenship rights in Conti’s overseas dominions are restricted to residents of Conti descent. Naturalisation can only be granted by a private act of the Great Council. Although predominantly reflecting the parliamentary nature of the bailiwick’s constitutional system, the Instrument of Government makes provision directed at promoting direct democracy. Citizens can challenge existing legislation via referendum provided a public petition is endorsed by at least 20% of all registered voters. Universal suffrage is guaranteed for all citizens age 20 or over. The Guildhall is the seat of government. Chartered Companies and the Free City of Saint-Malo The East India Company (EIC) and the West India Company (WIC) were established by an Act of the Great Council on the 5th June 2009. Both corporations have been granted a Charter of Privileges guaranteeing special trading rights with territories lying respectively east and west of the Greenwich Meridian. Conferred privileges include fiscal exemptions aimed at stimulating the growth of trade in raw commodities and securing continuing access to energy supplies, the right to maintain armies, wage war and sign treaties. Ships operated or owned by the IEC and the WIC have the privilege to sail under their company’s house flag in lieu of Conti's merchant ensign. The Brittany Company (BC) was established on the 14th June 2009 by an Act of the Great Council following Conti’s acquisition of Brittany. The company's Charter of Privileges reflects the bailiwick’s traditional reluctance to commit excessive resources to support its dependencies by effectively privatizing the administration of the new territory. The charter thus facilitated the transfer of government functions to the Brittany Company for a duration of 12 years (thereafter subject to re-evaluation every 3 years) with an explicit mandate to exercise police powers and levy taxes, de facto enabling the company to assume quasi-regal powers nominally attributed to the Great Council. Located on the northern coastline of Brittany, the Free City of Saint-Malo is Conti's major commercial gateway to its mainland dominions administered by the Brittany Company. The City’s growing importance as a trade hub was formally acknowledged by the Great Council when it was granted the right to self-governance and associated privileges of Free City status as defined in the Charter of Liberties of the Free City of Saint-Malo conceded on the 26th July 2009. Per the terms of the charter, the Brittany Company’s rule over Saint-Malo was terminated and replaced by a council of 12 elected members (known as the Corporation of Saint-Malo) entrusted with the government of the City under the leadership of a Lord-Mayor. The document also confines Conti’s involvement in municipal government to prerogatives pertaining to defence and foreign affairs. New Model Army The New Model Army Act adopted by the Great Council on the 9th June 2010 created the nucleus of Conti’s first standing army, composed of professional soldiers organised into permanent regiments. The act put an end to the bailiwick’s overreliance on civic militia and mercenary companies for its defence and reformed the long-standing practice of raising temporary armies of paid soldiers in wartime. The Militia, retained as an auxiliary unit of the New Model Army, is entrusted to support the civic authorities in preserving domestic order.